Seventh-inning craziness ends with Hawks taking state title
Nothing like a little celebration on the infield at Canal Park after winning a state title. Of course the Hawks have done plenty of that the past three seasons.
The Hiland Hawks squared off against the Lake Center Christian Tigers in the Division VI state final on Sunday, June 15 at Canal Park in Akron.
Hiland won the game 5-4, giving the Hawks their third straight state title, one of only three programs in the state to accomplish that feat.
“This was the goal. This is what we’ve talked about all season,” Hiland head coach Chris Dages said. “We felt we had the horses to do it, and they came through in a very tough situation against a heck of a good ball team. This was the goal, to put ourselves in position to win this final game of the year here in Akron. These guys are awesome. I love all of these guys who have given so much to this program.”
Here is a quick summation of the game.
Through six innings Hiland led 3-1 in a final that seemed fairly tame with little fanfare or excitement.
Then came the seventh.
In what was one of the most exciting finishes anyone can imagine, the Tigers felt the thrill of coming back from the dead to take a 4-3 lead, only to have the Hawks rally in the bottom of the inning to set off a wild celebration that was both expected and yet unexpected based on the top of the inning.
Hiland’s Kaden Kandel gave his team every chance to win, working Houdini acts through several of his innings that saw Tigers littering the bases, only to see him magically spin his way out of trouble, including a bases loaded with one out third inning.
Meanwhile LCC starter Caleb Shelly was doing his very best to keep the Tigers afloat against the state’s No. 1 ranked team in Div. VI.
However, all the action taking place in the first six innings paled in comparison to the wild seventh inning that had everyone on the edge of their seats.
With Michael Miller on the mound for Hiland, the Tigers drew a pair of walks to begin the frame. Miller was relieved by Colin Coblentz, who recorded a strikeout but then fired a bunt attempt by Luke Heckert down the right-field line to allow one run to come home. Heckert then stole second, and Coblentz uncorked a wild pitch to tie things at 3-3.
Shelly then battled during a lengthy at-bat that launched a long go-ahead sacrifice fly to deep center to give the Tigers their first lead at 4-3, something that sent the Tigers and their large contingent of fans into a frenzy.
“That was an elite at-bat,” LCC head coach Shane Byler said. “He kept fighting and fighting and got the job done.”
However, the Hawks never flinched or shied away from the challenge.
Now down a run, relief pitcher Grant Coblentz hit Hiland lead-off hitter Caden Coblentz on the foot to begin the bottom of the seventh.
“I told the kids we’ve got three games to play with,” Dages said after the Hawks coughed up the lead. “Everybody’s got a job to do.”
Coblentz advanced to second on a wild pitch, and Miller then laid down a picture-perfect bunt down the third-base line for a single. The throw to first skipped a few yards away from first baseman Jacob Rainieri, and the speedy Coblentz never hesitated, sprinting home and beating the throw with a headfirst slide to tie the game. Meanwhile, Miller took advantage of the chaos and took second when nobody covered the bag.
Colin Coblentz then executed a sacrifice bunt, and the wheels were then set in motion for a frenetic finish.
Byler dug into his bag of moves and walked two very dangerous hitters in Hiland’s Grady Monigold — who had tortured the Tigers and thrives at Canal Park — and catcher Danny Hostetler, the teams’ leading hitter.
With one out, those moves set up the force play at the plate, but that strategy never came into play when Hiland third baseman Logan Yoder rifled a bullet into left for a single that ended one of the most improbable and intense innings in state finals history and sent the Hawks into the history books.
“That is some of the best baseball you’ll see from both teams in the entire state in any division,” Byler said. “It’s good baseball the way it’s supposed to be played.”
As for his team’s tenacity in storming back in the seventh inning, Byler said it wasn’t shocking to see his kids perform under the pressure with the game on the line.
“We were knocking on the door the whole game, waiting to break through, waiting for that opportunity,” Byler said. “We were finally able to take advantage of it.”
Byler said playing small ball and taking advantage of the walks has been a staple of this team all season.
It also has been the same for the Hawks, who responded in kind.
“We’ve got a great lineup, and we’ve been getting it done all year, so we came in and simply picked each other up, encouraged each other and went to work,” Hostetler said.
“That happened quickly,” Byler said of the Hiland comeback.
For the Hawks it was an incredible finish to a captivating season, and they seemed to get the job done at nearly every opportunity.
“I think for the most part we were mad at ourselves after giving up the lead,” Michael Miller said. “But we never panicked; we never lost faith in ourselves. We’ve produced in those situations all season, and we came through again.”
And for the third straight time, the Hawks found themselves hoisting the ultimate prize at the end of a satisfying season.